When Night Closes in (33 page)

‘Why shouldn't we be in love?' Mr Watson asked. ‘Is it because you think we're a pair of old fogies?'

‘Of course not! I'm very happy for you both.' Lowri kissed her mother. She felt the thinness of her shoulders and knew that Rhian was much more ill than she was willing to admit.

‘It's true, Dad, I've had a phone call from Lowri and apparently Mother is really sick. I'll go to see her tomorrow and perhaps this might be a good time for you two to kiss and make up.' Justin sat in the lounge of the exclusive London hotel and looked at his father's bent head. A knot of anger and resentment began to tighten inside him.

‘I know it's been hard to take all these years, Mother parading her love-child in front of you.' He shook his head. ‘A lesser man would not have put up with the situation for one minute.'

Charles looked up. ‘All I want now, Justin, is to protect your inheritance. You deserve to have everything, the money, the house at Summer's Dean and all that's in it. You are the true heir, Justin, and I won't let that sly bitch take it away from you.'

Justin tried to read the expression in his father's eyes. Whom was he calling a sly bitch, his wife or Lowri? ‘Anyway, Dad, I think you should see Mother, talk to her.'

‘Perhaps. Now, let's talk about the business, we must do all we can to salvage it, get everything under control again. Rhian's estate is all well and good but we deserve jam on our bread, something our business
was
providing.' He lit an expensive cigar. ‘If only some bastard had not run away with that CD everything would be all right.' There was venom in Charles's voice. ‘I blame Jon Brandon, he always did want a bigger cut of the action and he was careless into the bargain. Where the hell
is
the vital disc? It's got to be found or our business is down the pan.'

‘Well at least Brandon got all he deserved didn't he, Dad? After that going-over he got from your friend with the white hair he won't trouble you any more, will he?'

‘No, but he's been working for someone else, it's obvious. He kept some details of the accounts to himself, didn't he? He could still sink us.'

‘You tried asking his blonde bimbo?'

Charles nodded. ‘Sally White had nothing in the house, we made sure of that.'

‘Are you really sure? A CD is easily hidden, you know.'

‘Of course I'm sure, do you think I'm an idiot? I also arranged for an accident to happen to that sucker of a boyfriend of hers, he'd outlived his usefulness, but there was nothing on him, or in his rooms.'

‘Lowri!' Justin said. ‘Maybe Perkins gave the CD to Lowri. After all, his girlfriend worked in the same office as my dear half-sister.'

Charles's eyes narrowed. ‘You know, you might just have hit the nail on the head, boy!' He smiled. ‘So it's back to you. Go and stay with Lowri again – you've done it before so she won't be suspicious. Do you think she's in on it? She was sleeping with Brandon, wasn't she?'

‘Well, she knows all the parties concerned. She's the pivot that Brandon, Sally White and Perkins revolved around.' Justin drank some of his brandy. ‘And she's number one suspect with the police. Our Lowri could just be smarter than we've given her credit for.'

But she would not get the better of him. Justin rose to his feet and stared out of the hotel window. The street below was thronged with traffic but he was thinking about Summer's Dean. He loved the house, the good paintings, the heavy antique furniture and one day it would be his, whatever he had to do to possess it.

‘I have to go to Jamaica on police business, Lowri,' Lainey said and she looked up at him.

‘So why are you telling me? I thought I was your main suspect.'

‘Your involvement can't be ruled out,' Lainey said. Lowri heard the sharp tone in his voice and felt her spirits plummet. When he had arrived at her door she hoped he had learned something, found whatever it was he was looking for.

‘Why are you here, Jim?'

He sank down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. ‘I don't know why the hell I'm here!' He looked up abruptly. ‘Yes I do, it's because I've fallen in love with you, dammit!'

‘But you can't trust me?'

He shook his head. ‘I only wish I could, Lowri, believe me.' He moved towards her and took her hands, pulling her to her feet. ‘When I look into your eyes my gut instinct tells me you are innocent.'

She thought he would kiss her but he dropped her hands and walked towards the door. ‘Sadly, all the evidence points to your involvement. You might even be the brains behind this whole scam.'

Lowri swallowed hard; how could he think even for a minute that she would be involved in anything crooked? He stopped and looked back at her.

‘Timmy Perkins gave you Sally's belongings and among them was a CD, a very important CD. Now I don't know how or why it's so important, I can only guess that it holds incriminating data of some kind.'

‘Right, I'm with you so far,' Lowri said, clasping her hands together. She waited for him to go on but he sighed and put his hand on the door-handle. ‘Come on, tell me the rest, you can't just leave me with everything up in the air.'

He turned to face her. ‘And you still claim that the CD was stolen from you by someone you didn't recognize in the car park of the Swan Hotel?'

‘Yes I do!' Lowri said. ‘It's the truth. Why else would I be attacked? I'd got no money in my bag, I've got a credit card but anyone trying to use it would get short shrift because my credit is out of date. I'm waiting for a replacement.' Her tone was suddenly hard. ‘The only thing that could be of value was that blasted disc and I had nothing to do with any of it!' Anger began to build up inside her. She had been badgered and hurt and put in the most invidious position and she did not need any of it, particularly now with her mother so ill. Lowri moved towards Lainey.

‘This is all your fault! My life has been turned upside down by men! My stepfather hates me, Jon Brandon dumps me and vanishes, and you sleep with me and then when you've had what you want you turn against me. I hate you, Jim Lainey!'

She thumped his chest. She wanted to hurt him – she wanted to make love to him. ‘Oh, Jim, hold me,' she said.

He took her in his arms and smoothed back her hair. She cried against his shoulder, wanting his love, his trust, so much. She looked up at him and he wiped the tears away with his fingers.

‘Make love to me, Jim,' she said. ‘Please, let's forget everything for now and just be lovers one more time.'

He undressed her carefully, almost reverently, and together they lay on her bed. Lowri arched her neck as his lips touched her shoulder and then her breast. She cried out when he took her nipple into his warm mouth.

‘I love you, Jim,' she murmured against his skin. He silenced her words with a kiss and she clung to him. He touched her breasts, the flat of her stomach and his hand moved to stroke her thighs. He teased her until she was almost screaming for release.

He came into her then, their bodies fitting together perfectly. He gasped, as desperate as she was for release. His powerful body seemed to dominate her, her mind became a gleaming white crystal as she shuddered with the almost painful sensations of love and lust. She cried out, her back arched upwards, wanting him to reach every part of her being.

They lay together then in silence, wrapped in each other's arms. At last Lainey sighed. ‘I have to go. Can I use your shower?'

She nodded, the sweet languor of their loving stealing her voice. She heard the shower being turned on, the hiss of the water, and imagined Lainey standing there naked, his skin gleaming with soap, his hair flattened against his face. His dear face.

Lowri began to cry. Life was so cruel, it gave with one hand and took away with the other. She sat up in bed as Lainey returned to the room and began to dress. She watched him, the silk of his back turned towards her now, the arch of his strong neck where his hair curled wetly against his skin. She longed to hold him again, just hold him.

‘I haven't done anything wrong, Jim,' she said softly. ‘I'll swear to that on anything you like.'

He turned to face her, tucking his shirt into his trousers and pulling up the zip. It was such an intimate moment, more intimate in a strange way than their lovemaking had been.

‘I wish I had a pound for every time I've heard that.' He knotted his tie and pushed it into place beneath his collar. ‘I want to believe you, Lowri, I want with all my heart to believe you.'

She fell back against the pillows and put her hands over her eyes. ‘Just go, Jim, and when you finish this case and find I am innocent don't try to come crawling back.'

She heard the door close behind him and turned her face into the pillows and sobbed as if her heart was going to break.

It was almost an hour later when Justin let himself into the house with the key she had given him. Lowri had showered, washed her hair and remade her bed. She knew she had to put Lainey out of her mind and out of her life for good.

‘Just driven back from the bright lights, I called in to see Mother. She's set herself up nicely but it's a shame she walked out on Dad,' Justin said. ‘Got anything to eat?' He flopped down onto the sofa.

‘How about some steak and chips?' She was glad he was back, his presence gave her something other to think about than lying in bed with Lainey.

‘Lord, you parochials are still stuffing yourselves with bad food, aren't you? Got any pasta?'

‘Sure I've got pasta and I take it you don't want normal mince to go with it?' She saw him shake his head. ‘I've got borlotti beans and some pesto, any good?'

‘Sounds great.' He followed her into the kitchen. ‘Tell me about your love affair then.' He was leaning against the door-frame, his arms folded across his chest. Lowri looked up at her brother, startled. For one minute she thought he knew about Lainey.

‘This geezer you were seeing, what happened?'

‘Oh, you've heard about that from Charles, I suppose?' Lowri said, taking a pan from its hook. ‘I expect he thought it one big laugh.'

‘No not at all, he was angry with the man.'

Lowri sighed. ‘Same old story,' she said, ‘foolish woman taken in by an older, not to mention good-looking man.'

‘And to make it worse the man was married. You are a fool sis.'

‘You are well informed.'

‘What happened to him, this chap? Where is he now?'

Lowri looked at him suspiciously; he was very interested in her life all of a sudden. She tried to recall the attraction Jon had had for her, and failed. ‘He was a good-looking man, great fun, generous and good in bed,' she said. ‘But why he vanished suddenly I can't imagine.'

‘Didn't he talk to you much, then?' Justin asked. ‘Obviously he wouldn't talk about his wife but did he ever
talk
to you? All the experts say that's the way to succeed with women.'

‘He talked a little about his business, but never at a serious level. Why are you so interested suddenly?'

‘Bored, I guess. I'm so used to a high-powered life that I find Jersey Marine a little dull. Come on, talk to me, what did this married man do for a living?'

‘He was selling computer software if you must know.' She turned and looked at him. ‘But then you must know that because the last consignment was addressed to you.'

‘So I believe, but I don't recall doing business with the man. Maybe one of the others on my team dealt with it. If I'd known what a shit he was I would have given him and his software the big heave-ho!'

‘Go and set the table,' Lowri said some time later, as she tipped the pasta into a colander and ran it under the tap.

‘Why are you washing the pasta?' Justin took some cutlery out of the drawer. ‘I thought you'd have done that before you cooked it.'

Lowri smiled. ‘It's just to remove the residue of starch,' she said. ‘It's clear you never do any cooking.'

‘True.'

Justin went into the sitting-room and Lowri heard the rattle of the cutlery against the polished table and winced. She tipped the pasta into a bowl and mixed in the beans and the sauce.

They ate in silence for a time and Lowri fell to dreaming about Lainey, how he had loved her, how he had made love to her. Anything she had ever experienced before paled into insignificance beside the way she felt for Jim Lainey.

‘You look like a woman who's just been well shagged,' Justin said. He leaned across the table. ‘Come on, sis, if you've found a new boyfriend you can tell me.'

‘Mind your own business.' Lowri's tone was sharper than she intended and Justin's eyebrows shot up.

‘Touchy!'

‘Sorry. Eat your dinner and stop making personal remarks.'

He ate his pasta and dabbed at his lips with one of Lowri's best napkins. Her mother had given the set to her when Lowri moved into the house, and she sighed inwardly. She would never get the tomato stains out.

‘Has your married man come back to you, then?' Justin probed. ‘This food is delicious, you'll make some man an excellent wife.'

Lowri shook her head and without answering pushed away her plate. She had no appetite. She was in love, really in love for the first time in her life, with a man she could never have.

‘Come on, Lowri, talk to me. I'm your brother and if there's anything going on in your life I should know about then tell me?'

She took the plates into the kitchen and dumped them into the sink. She turned on the tap and the water swirled and gurgled, effectively shutting out the sound of Justin's voice.

Was he trying to make up for all the time they had been apart? He had been to see their mother and had taken her gifts. He even apparently accepted the fact that Rhian was living with another man. Perhaps she should be more charitable and not judge him by his past behaviour.